Theseus

Theseus (1325 BC-) was the King of Athens, best known for his slaying of the Minotaur on Crete in 1293 BC. He notably unified Attica under Athenian rule and built a palace on the Acropolis Sanctuary, and he also overcame the archaic religious and social order to create a monarchial city-state.

Biography
Theseus was born in 1325 BC, the son of King Aegeus. His father abandoned him to marry a new consort, Medea, and he was raised by his mother, who told him that he would have to take Aegeus' sword and sandals (placed under a heavy rock) to Athens in order to claim his birthright. He performed six heroic labors before arriving in Athens, where Medea recognized him. She asked him to capture the Marathonian Bull, hoping that he would be killed, but he instead captured the bull and sacrificed it in Athens. Medea then attempted to poison him, but Theseus recognized his sandals and sword and threw away the poisoned cup, forcing Medea to flee to Asia as Theseus was reunited with his father.

In 1293 BC, Theseus volunteered to go with the seven young men and seven young women who were annually sent to King Minos' labyrinth in Crete to be fed to the Minotaur, seeking to slay the monster. His father told him to change his black sails to white on the return journey if he was successful, and he saw him off to Crete. Theseus seduced Minos' daughter Ariadne, who gave him a ball of string so that he could navigate his way out of the labyrinth once he slew the Minotaur. Theseus stabbed the Minotaur in the throat and severed its head, and he followed the string back to the entrance, taking with him the sacrificial victims. Theseus then sailed back with Ariadne and the young people, stopping on Naxos. The goddess Athena told Theseus that Naxos was Dionysus' island, and commanded him to leave early in the morning and to leave Ariadne for Dionysus. Distressed over the loss of his lover, Theseus forgot to change his sails upon his return to Athens, and his father, believing that his son had been killed, threw himself into the sea, which became known as the Aegean. Theseus then became King of Athens, succeeding his father.

Theseus and his companion Pirithous pledged themselves to marry daughters of Zeus, and Theseus kidnapped the infant Helen of Troy, planning to marry her when she was older; Pirithous chose to marry Persephone. Theseus and Pirithous went to the underworld to kidnap Persephone from Hades, and Helen was rescued while Theseus was away. They were both bound to rocks, but Heracles ultimately rescued Theseus, who persuaded Persephone to forgive him; however, every time he tried to free Pirithous, the Underworld shook, so he was forced to leave his friend behind.

Theseus later abducted and married the Amazon queen Hippolyta, but she was killed in a failed rescue attempt by her sister Penthesilea in 1247 BC. Theseus later remarried to Phaedra, Minos' other daughter, and she bore him Demophon of Athens and Acamas. Due to a curse from Aphrodite due to Phaedra's desire to become a follower of Artemis, Phaedra fell in love with Hippolytus, the son of Theseus and Hippolyta. Phaedra was afraid that Theseus would punish her, so she claimed that Hippolytus had raped her, and she then hanged herself. Theseus believed her and used one of the three wishes granted to him by Poseidon to have his son trampled by his own horses, but Artemis later told Theseus the truth.